We take every customer complaint seriously, and respond as quickly as possible. We are currently cooperating with local law enforcement and media outlets.

We take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers. We are the first and only cab company in Richmond that utilizes closed-circuit cameras in every vehicle, including the vehicle in which the alleged assault occurred.

As soon as we became aware of this complaint, we reviewed the pertinent video. The video does not show the alleged assault. It does show that the cab driver picked up two passengers in violation of local law and company policy. As a result, his relationship with Napoleon Taxi has been terminated effective immediately.

The video also shows both passengers conversing amicably, discussing among other things where they work. The passenger who issued the complaint invited the second passenger to visit her at work.

This evening, after speaking to the complaining passenger, she retracted her allegation of assault and agreed to remove her Facebook post. In deference to local law enforcement and out of respect for both of our passengers, we cannot release the video at this time. However, if the complaining passenger agrees and law enforcement ok’s it, we will be happy to release the video in its entirety.

On Saturday night, I called Napoleon Taxi for a cab going from Church Hill to my home. The driver picked me up at 11:30 pm. He began to drive through Church Hill instead of my direction. I asked why there was a detour and he told me he would be picking up another passenger as the service was busy that evening. I expressed my concern over the additional stop. The driver ignored me and proceeded to pick up a man. The man did not give the driver a second address for the additional stop when he entered the cab. The new passenger then touched my leg – first with his hand, and then with his own leg. I was scared but couldn’t think of anything to do other than stay calm and hope the situation didn’t escalate. The driver stopped in front of my home and charged me for the entire fare.

I called Napoleon early Sunday morning and reported the incident. The dispatcher told me there was no record of my ride, so I gave her the phone number of the driver who picked me up. The dispatcher said a manager from Napoleon would contact me. This has not yet happened.

I decided to file a report with Richmond City Police. A strange man who touched me inappropriately now knows where I live. A local business gave him the opportunity and has compromised my safety and sense of security. The administrator who took the details for the report informed me that an officer will contact me, but not to expect any action as I had been drinking before calling the cab.

I’m shocked with the lack of response from Napoleon and Richmond City Police. Am I to believe the outcome of this is if I have drinks on a Saturday night and call a cab, I’m to blame when a stranger violates me while being driven to my front door?

I’m not looking for compensation; I WANT ANSWERS. Are cab drivers allowed to pick up additional passengers without your consent? How should I have handled the situation without jeopardizing my safety?

Yes, actually. You are to blame, but only for being so naive, and for putting yourself in that position. You should immediately have refused the ‘other passenger’ BS. You should have immediately demanded to get out of the vehicle the second he continued toward getting another passenger, you should have recorded the plate, the driver’s name. You should immediately have dialed 911 from your cell phone—it was easy enough to call the cab. Lastly you should have jumped, JUMPED out of that cab at the first stoplight and then called 911. Women! Why are we still so naive?

@Joann I think we can cut the OP a break and not be so harsh – I assume, by the way you dealt out your lashing, it must be nice to have never made a mistake. This was a scary (and confusing) situation and when your brain cells are assessing possible actions and outcomes, this can lead to a survival mode rather than a flight mode. Obviously, she has thought about this has taken appropriate proaction (in my opinion) after-the-fact. OP – I’m sorry this happened to you and thank you for posting this story. I will not be using Napoleon taxi service and will use your experience as a guide when/if I need a taxi in the future. Please keep us updated.

Their drivers need to stop calling female passengers by pet names like “honey” and “sweetheart” too. that is totally inappropriate. Pet names for customers is gross. I’ll never take cab from Napoleon again.

She did the right thing by not escalating the situation and she got away. This girl didn’t do anything to invite that and when put in a situation she never encountered before, she didn’t know what else to do but wait it out. How dare you blame her! The police need to pin down that cab driver and get him FIRED.

also, SHAME on the Richmond police for telling this young woman not to expect them to DO THEIR F*UCKING JOB just because she had been drinking. what the fuck rva pd? You should be ashamed of yourselves.

No your not naive. Yes you should have done all those things. But women are taught to be submissive, to not cause a scene or to be rude. Just nod and smile and you will be okay. You should be angry. Although you probably won’t get any answers best thing you can do for yourself is take a self defense class. I took one at revolution bjj. It was awesome and life changing

That sounds consummately frightening, and I am stunned that the Richmond police bailed because you’d “been drinking.” I second the suggestion of calling 12 On Your Side or some other tv media. This needs more light.

This post is very upsetting. I used to drive cab, and this behavior is way out of line and probably illegal. A suggestion? Call the cab company and ask to speak to the owner or manager. If you get through, tell him/her you’d like to set up a meeting to discuss this incident. If he/she agrees, bring friends. Demand an apology – and a refund, at least of the “extra” part of the fare. Say you want something posted in the cab office stating company policy on second fares. Threaten to call for a boycott of the company. If none of this works, please call me and I’ll call the company as a reporter. That often gets their attention. So sorry this happened. – Phil Wilayto, Editor, The Virginia Defender – DefendersFJE@hotmail.com

So scary! thanks for the warning!!! I will not be using Napolean Taxi- ever!!! As to those who advised you that “you should have gotten out of the taxi” I ask them, would it have been safer for you alone on the street? vulnerable to the taxi driver and the other passenger and any other predators? how long would it have taken the police to respond? probably a long time as they wouldn’t have taken it seriously…and it is guaranteed that someone would have helped you on the streets in a difficult situation because people generally don’t want to get involved if there is a hint of trouble. I am so glad that you got home in one piece!

#15 says it best. Whoever said that (it wasn’t clear to me whether this was the police administrator or Napoleon cab) needs to be looking for a new job tomorrow. This is a bullshit answer. Sue the fuck out of Napoleon for making you pay for someone else to ride along and molest you.

other reason not to call napoleon taxi : i took a cab in june 2010 but forgot to bring cash. the driver took a carbon copy of my debit card on the receipt for $12. the charge showed up on my bank statement in june and then in november i saw another identical charge. i called napoleon and they said that it was impossible but they would call me back. they didn’t ever call back. i called them two more times and was told someone would get in touch with me to correct it. i finally went to the bank to see if they could do anything about the charge and they told me to just give up and get a new debit card.

I’ll say that when I’ve been in New York, it is not unheard of for a car service to pick up another passenger or to share a ride, but the fare is usually split. So it’s not total BS, though I’m not familiar with car services here.

This was in no way the original poster’s fault. NO ONE should be victimized for making the right decision to not drive home drunk.

Certainly NOT the victims’ fault. It’s not unusual to share a taxi with someone else in a larger city, but it is not acceptable for the driver to not allow her to say NO if she doesn’t want to share her ride. And it’s absolutely preposterous to suggest that she get out of the cab right then and there – in the middle of the night?? Yes, that sounds about as safe as it would have been for her to just walk home alone.

Hopefully the Richmond Police will further investigate this but it’s a very shameful thing that we have to alert the media to get their attention.

This is outrageous!! So sorry this woman ended up dealing with this situation and am glad it was not much worse. If I or anyone is paying a cab, then I am also paying for their time, meaning their time belongs to me until I get out of the cab,…hard to want to have them pull over and just get out in Church Hill though. I also can’t believe the cab driver wasn’t even going to tell her, she had to ask!!!! I am calling this RVA cab company tomorrow, which I recommend everyone doing. I want that cab driver fired, before he does this again to someone else. Perhaps with much worse results. This is ridiculous and incredibly unsafe! Forget the fact the driver charged her for his detour, that is just illogical. It is disgusting what the RVA police said. Are they saying she is not credible because she was drinking? Seems she was quite coherent, remembers everything. The only reason the police even know she was drinking is because she probably told them. That is insulting. If this happened to me, my lawyer would be calling both of them shortly after.

@dionne Why did the Richmond Police department tell her not to expect anything to be done because she was drinking? Is this a policy of the RPD? Should everyone else who is assaulted or harassed while intoxicated expect the RPD to do nothing? I guess every woman has to publicly announce her sexual harassment to the world of FB before cops give a care?

Dionne,
If the police comment to the woman “don’t expect too much because you were drinking” is accurate, the police need major priority adjustment. In every objective sense, this woman did the exact right thing by calling a cab after drinking. The police, on the other hand, have in no way done the right thing here. What a terrible response from a policing and policy perspective. I for one want to know what is being done internally to address the terrible police response.

I have worked for Napoleon for over 3 years, as does my roommate. Another friend in the neighborhood does as well. I can say with 100% certainty that the owners of the company put the highest premium on the safety and well being of the customers. All of the cabs are equipped with video cameras on the inside and outside of the vehicles for the safety of the passengers and drivers. Our dispatch system tracks all cabs in operation at all times. The drivers are all given background and driving record checks before being issued permits to operate the cabs. I know that once they found out about this incident that it was investigated by the company immediately. It is illegal for a driver to pick up a second fare, and I know that they will be dealt with accordingly. I cannot tell you how many times over the last few years i heard horror stories from customers regarding their experiences with other companies in town, and how happy they are to have a company that they can trust to take care of them like Napoleon.

I’ve been watching Napoleon Taxicab’s FB page for their comment and I think, unless my computer is acting up on me, they’ve just deleted the majority of the recent postings regarding this thread/complaint off their page. (?) Anyone heard anything from them yet?

Don’t be so hard on Joann. After all, she does have a point. If this woman had just jumped out of a moving taxi into a dark neighborhood she didn’t know in the middle of the night, she’d have been perfectly safe. Oh wait- no. Everyone knows any woman walking by herself at night is some kind of prostitute. That wouldn’t have been good at all. No- what she should have done is taken a gun with her. Then she could have immediately shot the cab driver. Though it IS illegal to serve alcohol to a person with a gun in a bar. So maybe she should have just gone out with a man for protection. But then she still might have been going home to a place she lives alone. That’s like saying, “Hey pervs! Have your way with me!” Everyone knows women living alone in the city are kind of slutty. So what she should have done was gotten married and only gone out at night with her husband for protection. Otherwise, it is like she’s asking for trouble. As it is, now some poor cab driver who was just trying to make a buck is going to get an earful from his boss. Maybe even fired! Plus the can company AND the Richmond police look bad. She needs to write letters of apology to each of them immediately! Why must men suffer because women are so stupid?

We take every customer complaint seriously, and respond as quickly as possible. We are currently cooperating with local law enforcement and media outlets.

We take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers. We are the first and only cab company in Richmond that utilizes closed-circuit cameras in every vehicle, including the vehicle in which the alleged assault occurred.

As soon as we became aware of this complaint, we reviewed the pertinent video. The video does not show the alleged assault. It does show that the cab driver picked up two passengers in violation of local law and company policy. As a result, his relationship with Napoleon Taxi has been terminated effective immediately.

The video also shows both passengers conversing amicably, discussing among other things where they work. The passenger who issued the complaint invited the second passenger to visit her at work.

This evening, after speaking to the complaining passenger, she retracted her allegation of assault and agreed to remove her Facebook post. In deference to local law enforcement and out of respect for both of our passengers, we cannot release the video at this time. However, if the complaining passenger agrees and law enforcement ok’s it, we will be happy to release the video in its entirety.

Contact Ride Finders. They run the Capitol Region Taxicab Advisory Board. I’m not sure they have enforcement powers but they are a good place to start. A City Council member sits on that board. You should also contact your council member. The Ride Finders web site is here: http://www.ridefinders.com/FrontEnd/HTML/news.asp?id=107

@chpn I do not think that it should be taken down. she probably just doesn’t want people to know that it is her, especially after getting bashed by comments. do not take it down, it’s something that is very valid to the safety and concerns of female in Richmond and the more awareness we spread the greater the chance of something being done is and the less likely (hopefully) it is that this will happen again.

I’m still waiting to hear if the police actually told her not to expect anything because she’d been drinking. Sorry, but that is NOT a decent response, whether the incident happened or not.

I’m assuming there have been enough comments here that I don’t need to add anything about not blaming the victim, although at this point, if I believe what the cab company claims, she may not be a victim.

that update and response is pretty damning for this lady. luckily she didnt ruin anyones life with this lie.
this kind of lying hurts more than just the accused, it hurts real victims of assaults everywhere when theyre not taken seriously because of ppl like this woman. shame on her.

@Aud: Our camera systems do have audio. Police investigators have reviewed the content. We have been advised by Richmond Police Department not to release the video to news outlets or online until the investigation is complete by detectives assigned to the case.

Currently, we are allowing media outlets to view the video privately, hoping that the correct information will be reported. Unfortunately, we cannot release evidence to the public until the investigation is closed by RPD. We assure you that nobody was assaulted or hurt in any way on the trip.

We will continue, with an even more concerted effort, to make every effort possible that ensures our driver’s do not put any of our customers in danger.

You should leave the post up. It’s an allegation that was made publicly, the accuser chose to put the incident up for public discussion.

It’s not clear how you would be able to evaluate accusations like this on your own in order to make a judgment on whether or not to post them in the first place. If someone is willing to go public with an accusation, I think you’re justified in taking it at least at face value, and credible enough to post here, with the obvious caveat that further investigation might reveal details that undermine the accusation.

It does put you on the hook to post any details that are relevant to supporting or discrediting the accusation that you’ve posted. But it seems to me like you’re doing a good job on that front. So I’d leave the post up, and maybe down the road add another update once there’s a better handle on all the facts and evidence.

So the victim made up a claim of harassment. she retracted her statement once they had video evidence. how interesting. Everyone is harping on Napoleon Taxi and the fired driver for picking up a 2nd fare, but no one is talking about how someone can make up a false claim and no one cares..

Thank you Napoleon for firing the driver. When put on the spot the girl may feel like she over reacted but that doesn’t mean that the man riding with her wasn’t out of line. She probably works at a bar or restaurant and said “yeah you should come check us out”. I have been groped many times for saying less than that. Like it or not It’s what happens. She didn’t say that she was sexually assaulted. She said she was creeped out by the disrespect she felt by the cabby and the fare.

It is disgraceful what this woman has done. It is because of jerks like this that REAL victims of sexual assault are made out to be liars. If she made a complaint to the police then I hope they charge her for a false complaint. Shame on her.

Just watched this in the news. She never mentioned the hand touching leg incident on TV, but acknowledged that the other passengers leg did hers. The driver was fired for picking upstairs multiple passengers. The president of the company called the customer and she seemed pleased with how they handled the situation. I’m impressed that there were cameras in the cabs.

Funny how she completely retracted her story when it was revealed there was video evidence. So I’m sure there will be swift, just consequences for this young woman spreading lies about a local business, right?

Clearly everyone who’s shaming this woman has never been assaulted! I’d take the story down too if I had this many people (hiding behind anonymity, to boot) accusing me of lying. She listened to her instincts, felt that the 2nd passenger’s actions weren’t appropriate, and said something — and now people are saying to keep quiet? What kind of message is that sending?
Even if the cab video shows her amicably chatting with the other passenger, then what? Sometimes all you can do is make the best of it, avoid pissing off a handsy stranger, get away as quickly as possible, lock your doors. Assault isn’t just someone screaming “help! help!”
She’s not suing Napoleon for $1 million or anything silly, I don’t see any motivation to lie.

This was blown extremely out of proportion thanks to the media and this girl (and I use that term mainly due to her childish attention seeking actions). Not only do I know people who work there but I know the driver and I know EVERYTHING that Took place. Nothing happened on that video hence why they wouldn’t show it. The police aren’t letting the taxi service release it yet but as soon as they can they will and I hope this girl realizes the repurcussions of lying. Attention seeking wont protect other women who actually are in trouble and need help.

I agree with those who say err on the side of caution. The driver by law was not supposed to pick up another passenger after the woman said something about it. Period. Then for her to question and not receive any response from the cab company (until she posted on Facebook) and THEN the RPD blowing her off as well (currently under investigation). If she felt something was wrong and no one’s listening, I don’t believe her reaction was at all childish, nor was anything blown out of proportion. Good for her for doing what’s needed to get answers! Because of all her “childishness”, I know my rights the next time I get in a cab in an unfamiliar area at midnight.

Awesome that Napoleon has dealt with the employee who broke the rules and started all this. The rest is … curious. The part that was the most alarming to me in the original accusation was the RPD’s response about her drinking. Has that statement been retracted, as well, then?

Thank you John Murden for posting the three tv stations stories. I actually listened to the one from WTVR which has Mark Holmberg doing the reporting, and he confirms that the passenger’s leg was rubbing up against her leg. Holmberg says he can’t show us the video but he has it on the screen he is watching so he can TELL us about it.

KB #77 I agree with you, this was not a childish reaction. I think she’s pretty brave to put her name out there.

To anyone who was shocked and saddened by the creepy cab ride story. You’re heart is in the right place but the facts are not. At first I too was horrified at the neglect of the cab company and immediately took sides with the accuser, but after doing some research it has become abundantly clear that her allegations were completely false.

1. There was no intentional offensive touching,

“Lawyers are withholding video of the actual ride for privacy reasons, but they say there is no evidence of sexual assault” not even questionable. (ch12 website)

The accuser even “invited the second passenger to visit her at work.” (Napoleon Owner) as well as telling reporters she, “admits she had a few drinks,..So I honestly don’t remember the conversation we had,” (accuser on CH12)

2. The accuser also said she was not informed that they were picking up a second passenger. However if released the video proves the driver DID ask her if she minded him picking up another nearby customer, and she consented (video/driver testimony)

3. The accuser also said she paid both fares, but the video reveals she was actually charged less then was supposed to.

I have many friends who both use and work for Napoleon Taxi , and I hope the company can release the video soon, to settle this once and for all, for those skeptics,

It was also barely mentioned on CH6 that the cab driver waited outside. He even called her three times, he eventually left but returned so she would not have to wait outside alone for another cab. It should also be mentioned that this was the drivers 4th night on the job. With little experience he was just trying to do what was right. He never intended nor noticed any awkwardness or else he would have “thrown the dude out” (driver).

So yes it is true he unknowingly violated policy. The driver had his taxi permit, but was waiting to receive the rest of his training for his license. Furthermore, for those whohave a heart the driver was fired on his birthday and publicly humiliated on live television. If I did’nt know that his girlfriend was there for him I think he would be in a very bad place. He is guilty of being a bad taxi driver, not a bad person. If the video proves me wrong I will apologize and correct my statement as I would hope CH6,8,12 do for their blatant bad taste news. The accuser even already retracted her allegations of molestation, so, come on T.V “journalist” it’s your turn.
Woman all over the world, especially in VA are battling for equality, and should not be detoured from coming out and talking about their experience. However this story, well this is BS. Her allegations caused a lot of harm to the driver and to a company whose intentions and innovations were meant to protect woman.
All power all people, sincerely
A Woman’s Rights Advocate, Church Hill Resident, Friend.

Accuser, even though nothing happened, I know this was not easy for you, and you were operating under good intentions. Don’t sweat this too much.